The term was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America which was written in 1931. He states: “The American Dream is “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

Gee, I don’t know how this translation got lost over time, but this is not The American Dream most people are familiar with. The American Dream is a house, a lot of money, a nice car and another nice car, a spouse, 2.5 kids all enclosed in a white picket fence and a dog. Sadly, this is what many Americans are in pursuit of. Not too many people are thinking of social order and equality. It’s the “I Gotta Get Mine Syndrome”, the appearance of “I’m doing well” or “Look at me, I made it”, regardless of what it really costs.

Take for example, a home. One of my favorite financial guru’s always says, a home can either be a curse or a blessing. If you don’t have the money to maintain a home, it will be a curse. If you save your money, put a 20% down payment, then it should be blessing.

The American Dream sounds good, but in reality, that’s all it is, a dream. It may even be somebody else’s dream. I’m certainly not buying into what people think I should have. All of those things mentioned above is great. Everyone deserves their own home, nice things, a great salary, but not at the expense of self-destruction. Have a seat, think about what YOU really want and then go for it, but not before calculating the costs.

A quote from a magazine I read: “The more we want to do something (fill in the blank) the more likely we are to make unchecked assumptions and pay attention only to the data that tells us what we want to hear.”

My dream is to be debt free before the end of ‘07.

Recommended Reading:
Cashing in on the American Dream
BLACK WALLSTREET - A Lost Dream